Assembled in China but designed in California, Japan, or Europe. That’s been the story of China’s economic rise for the past 30 years. Few if any of China’s companies are considered innovative by global standards – and Nobel prizes for science remain frustratingly elusive. But China wants to be more than the factory of the world and its government knows it has to move on from a “beg, borrow or steal” strategy on innovation if it is to keep growing its economy. Will it be able to do this?
Category: Innovation
Explore the cutting-edge ideas and technologies that are shaping the future of our world
Asia’s invention boom
For more than a century, the United States has been the dominant global force for innovation. But China and other Asian countries are now testing that dominance, and the West should welcome the challenge, argues Edward Jung, former chief architect at Microsoft.
Defence, science and technology to lead in US-India relations
The Indian Economic Times reports the spectacular success of the incredibly frugal Mars Orbiter Mission that put India straight into an elite club and opened up an array of business opportunities has created the right atmospherics for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US during which he would engage with the civil society, policy makers and the business community. And in almost all of these, one subject that would be the talking point would be technology.
Thai Science, Technology and Innovation
Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Yongyuth Yuthavong considers the country has the potential to become a leader in the South East Asia’s science, technology and innovation. Science and technology is a key to helping Thailand escape from the middle-income trap by 2030. The Deputy Prime Minister argues what is needed is increased investment in education and a change in mindset not only in Thailand, but the Asean region.
Jokowi plans to set up a new Ministry of Research and Higher Education
Originally posted on GoLive Indonesia:
President elect Joko Widodo recently spoke to the media about his plan to merge Research and Development (R&D) agencies in differing ministries into a new Ministry of Research and Higher Education (Link: Vivanews 16 September 2014). His reason is clear- that is to improve efficiency, transparency and research impacts’ ‘measurability’.…
Japan’s universities can’t win
By Takamitsu Sawa In January last year, shortly after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe returned to power, the government created the Industrial Competitiveness Council to study concrete steps to strengthen Japanese industry’s international competitiveness, which has weakened in recent years. Indeed, many Japanese manufacturers were forced to retreat from the market of fast-selling smartphones and tablets…
Nanomedicine: India’s next small thing
Nanotechnology is one of the key technologies of the 21st century. Its multidisciplinary involving areas such as applied physics, material science, molecular biology and engineering. It has the potential to transform every economic sector from medicine, energy, electronics to food science and cosmetics. Scientists are already collaborating to create new medical devices and more resistant…
Scientific ties that bind?
By Eugene Sebastian Governments in Asia are spending big on science, technology and innovation to drive their economies. These governments also recognise that investing in system reforms alone is not enough. Spending on having programmes that help strengthen links is also important. Can closer international scientific ties help strengthen international links? The Royal Society in…
China’s Education Gap
An article that recently appeared in the New York Times identifying the gap in China’s phenomenal education expansion. By Helen Gao BEIJING — Every September, the campuses of Peking and Tsinghua Universities, dubbed the Harvard and M.I.T. of China, brim with bright-eyed new students, the winners of China’s cutthroat education system. These young men and women…
Saudi’s push towards an innovation economy
By Mohamed Imam Salem, King Saud University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is pushing to diversify its economy beyond natural resource. Transitioning towards a knowledge-based economy is its optimal development strategy. In pursuing this strategy, the Kingdom is focusing on science and technology. As the technological requirements of the global…
Indonesia’s innovation challenge
By Siwage Dharma Negara The 2014 Global Innovation Index (GII) ranks Indonesia 87th out of 143 countries in terms of innovation capability. In this aspect, Indonesia still lags behind several of its ASEAN neighbors, such as Singapore (7), Malaysia (33), Thailand (48), and Vietnam (71). Indonesia’s ranking is only better than Brunei Darussalam (88), the Philippines…
Unleashing the power of innovation
By Andrew Moody Is China about to lead the world as an innovator again? The world’s second-largest economy invented gunpowder, the compass, printing and papermaking, but has fallen behind not just in recent decades but for most of the last two centuries. After reform and opening-up in the late 1970s, China became the workshop of the…
China needs a culture of creative innovation
By Timothy Beardson Here are several tools by which we can measure the level of innovation in a country. In China there is often a focus on numbers of patents, university graduates and scientific papers. The authorities have set quantitative targets for patents as a measure of innovation, and the number granted has subsequently increased. However, a…
The new science of diplomacy?
How do you increase resources in tough financial times? One answer is to look overseas. UK research is looking to dynamic emerging economies in Asia and Latin America where spending on science and innovation is growing fast. Even the UK government sees science and innovation as an emerging business opportunity in its international engagement. According to…
Reinventing higher education
The revolution to reinvent the university has begun according to the Economist, the UK’s weekly newspaper. Three forces are reinventing the university: rising costs, changing demand and disruptive technology. Higher education, The Economist argues, suffers from Baumol’s disease – the tendency of costs to soar in labour-intensive sectors with stagnant productivity. Whereas the prices of…
Smart Societies 